Ahead of the Curve Archive

ISRI Survey: Paper Mills Weigh In on Mixed-Waste Recycling

13 Apr 2016 Contamination, odor, and excessive moisture are just a few of the reasons that paper mill fiber buyers cite for rejecting paper stock from mixed waste processing centers. This finding is part of the preliminary results from a survey conducted by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).

China’s Recovered Paper Import Demand Over the Next Five Years: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up

06 Apr 2016 After falling continuously in 2013 and 2014, Chinese recovered paper imports rebounded by about 6% from 27.5 million metric tons in 2014 to 29 million metric tons in 2015, just slightly less than the peak level of 30 million metric tons in 2012. More than 55% of the import increase came from Western Europe, while the United States accounted for only 20% of China’s import growth.

Attracting Engineering Grads

30 Mar 2016 It’s spring and that means days are getting warmer, nights are getting shorter, and flowers are blooming; it also means thousands of soon-to-be engineers are looking for jobs. Before hiring a young engineer they must first know about your organization.

U.S. Senate Recognizes Biomass Energy Carbon Benefits

23 Mar 2016 In late February Bob Cleaves, president of the Biomass Power Association, wrote the following commentary on the current level of U.S. government support of biomass for energy.

The Evolving Role of the Mill Engineer

16 Mar 2016 By Graeme Rodden This is an advance-look excerpt from the cover story of the March/April issue of Paper360°.

Researchers Turn Paper Waste into Multi-Use Aerogels

09 Mar 2016 A research team led by Assistant Professor Duong Hai Minh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering, has achieved a world’s first by successfully converting paper waste into green cellulose aerogels that are non-toxic, ultralight, flexible, extremely strong, and water repellent.

Study Underscores Forest Products’ Role in Climate Change

02 Mar 2016 The Canadian Climate Forum has released an issues paper that documents how forests and products made from tree fiber will play an increasingly critical role in the transition to a low carbon economy.

Is Your Pizza Box Trying to Kill You?

24 Feb 2016 By Jan Bottiglieri, Editorial Director, Paper360° On the last day of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a notification titled “Update on Perfluorinated Grease-proofing Agents.” The FDA also published a press release with the headline “FDA Revokes Food Additive Approval for the Use of Long-Chain Perfluorinated Compounds as Oil and Water Repellents for Paper Used in Food Packaging.”

Kari Jordan on: Successful Transformation

17 Feb 2016 Metsä Group President and Chief Executive Officer Kari Jordan has recently been named RISI’s European CEO of the Year for 2016. This is the first time Jordan has picked up the prestigious award; he was unanimously chosen by a group of financial analysts and portfolio managers covering the forest products industry.

China’s boxboard exports skyrocket and tap into critical demand growth markets

10 Feb 2016 According to a recent RISI study, global boxboard demand has advanced by 2-3% annually on average since the early years of the last decade, which compares favorably to many other segments of the pulp and paper industry that are stagnant or in decline.